Month of December

This month has been very exciting: Dustin graduated, I left my job to pack up and prepare for the move, we traveled to multiple states to spend time with family, etc. We both had a wonderful time hanging out with family members and felt loved through their generosity in Christmas gifts. My favorite time, though, was singing hymns with my family in our living room. I hope we pass this meaningful tradition on in our own family. What a special way to celebrate the holidays!
Now we are working on settling into our new city... Yesterday Dustin and I returned a few Christmas gifts and stocked up on groceries, so, this allowed us a little time to get to know it a bit. Our experience? Multiple people honking or butting in front of us on the road, the longest wait in a bank line I've ever been in, long driving distances between anything... and while watching the local news, it isn't unusual to hear about multiple shootings or murders... Hmmm... I think this is a big change for both of us. (It also wasn't the ideal day to travel. New Year's Eve is such a busy time everywhere!)
Anyway, we are pushing those thoughts aside of the negative aspects of living in a larger city and are looking forward to getting connected to a church family and our neighbors here on campus. So many people have already reached out to us and we feel blessed to live in this cozy apartment. We are prayerful about Dustin's classes, searching for a church home, and finding jobs! Soon we'll post some pictures of our new home. It's coming together nicely!